Ballon d’Or Awards LIVE: Vinicius Jr claims ‘they’re not ready’ as Rodri crowned amid Real Madrid boycott
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was revealed tonight with Rodri succeeding Lionel Messi
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Your support makes all the difference.Vinicius Jr took to social media to react after finishing second in the Ballon d’Or voting behind Manchester City’s Rodri after Real Madrid led a boycott of Monday night’s ceremony in protest of the result.
Vinicius had been widely tipped to win the men’s award after an outstanding season, but Real Madrid delegation cancelled their trip to the Paris ceremony at the last minute when the “leaked results” of the prestigious award showed Rodri had received the most votes ahead of the Brazilian and Jude Bellingham.
The 24-year-old, who was named Champions League player of the year after playing a starring role in Real Madrid’s 15th European Cup, took to Twitter/X and posted “I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.” He did not congratulate Rodri on on winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time, with the influential midfielder recognised for his role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph.
Follow all the reaction from the Ballon d’Or ceremony with our live blog below:
Vinicius Jr reacts to Ballon d'Or result after losing to Rodri: ‘They’re not ready’
Vinicius Junior deserved to win the Ballon d’Or - his problem was that so did Rodri
Real Madrid boycott Ballon d’Or as Vinicius Jr loses out to Rodri
States of Play: Miguel Delaney answers your questions – from Man City’s court case to Newcastle’s takeover
Real Madrid’s statement on Ballon d’Or ceremony
Real Madrid issued a statement to the AFP after confirming they did not travel to the Ballon d’Or ceremony because of a lack of “respect”.
“If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner,” the club said.
“As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or-Uefa does not respect Real Madrid.
“And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.“
Rodri becomes a rare Premier League winner
By winning the Ballon d’Or, Rodri becomes the first Premier League player to take the award back to England since Cristiano Ronaldo’s first prize in 2008.
Michael Owen (2001), George Best (1968), Bobby Charlton (1966), Denis Law (1964) and Stanley Matthews (1956) are the only other men’s player to win the Ballon d’Or while playing for an English club.
Jude Bellingham follows Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard
Rather overshadowed by the fallout surrounding his club Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham finished third in voting for last night’s Ballon d’Or.
It’s a brilliant achievement for the 21-year-old midfielder, who becomes the first English men’s player to finish on the Ballon d’Or podium since Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard did so in 2005.
Bellingham, though, has yet to post about the Ballon d’Or on his social media and he did not attend last night’s cermony in Paris along with his Real Madrid team-mates.
How does Ballon d’Or voting work?
The Ballon d’Or is awarded by an international jury of 100 journalists, with one representative of each of the countries ranked in the top 100 of the Fifa rankings.
The Ballon d’Or shortlist is chosen by the editorial staff at magazine France Football and sports daily L’Equipe.
The eligibility period runs from August to August, in this case August 2023 to August 2024, and includes international competitions such as the Euros and the Copa America.
Voters select a top 10, with 15 points for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third and so on. The player with the most points by the end is crowned the winner.
Vinicius Jr called ‘the best’ by Toni Kroos after Ballon d’Or
Toni Kroos took to Instagram to call Vinicius Jr “the best” after his former Real Madrid team-mate finished second to Rodri in voting for the Ballon d’Or.
The now retired six-time Champions League winner also replied to a post from Fabrizio Romano, in which the journalist asked ‘what would you change from the the Ballon d’Or rankings?’.
Kroos replied ‘Where do we start?’
Rodri’s speech after winning the Ballon d’Or
Rodri spoke very well last night after winning the Ballon d’Or last night, praising the spirit of hard work and thanked his family and team-mates for their support.
“First of all, I have to thank a very special person, my girlfriend Laura, today is our eighth anniversary. Without her, things would not be the same.
“My family, of course, the values they have taught me, showing me the right steps to take and helping me to become the man I am today.
“A very special person, my agent Paulo, when you took me to matches, feeding my dreams. I also want to thank my teammates because without them I would not be here as football is a team game. It’s very special for me, Manchester City is the best club in the world, thanks to them things have been much easier. I want to thank Luis De La Fuente for trusting me.
“I want to mention my teammates with whom I won the Euro title with, especially Dani Carvajal who suffered the same injury that I suffered. Lamine Yamal, I know you will win this award soon. This is a victory for Spanish football and many of my friends have written to me to say, ‘Football has won today!”
“Lastly, I would like to tell you a story that led me here, when I was 17, I packed my suitcase to fulfil a dream. One day I cried to my father, it’s all over, I invested my life to get here and that was it. My father said, we came all the way here, let’s keep going and this is something that changed my mindset. I am a nomal kid with values, I know what a hard worker is, thank you very much.”
Real Madrid scrap Ballon d’Or broadcast and cancel 50-person trip
The result of the Ballon d’or was such as a shock to Real Madrid that they were preparing to send a party of 50 to the ceremony in Paris, reports the Independent’s Miguel Delaney.
The club had also planned a five-hour broadcast for their official television station but club president Florentino Perez immediately scrapped the show on finding out Vinicius Jr was second.
Real Madrid hit out against ‘football politics'
Real Madrid’s furious reaction to the Ballon ‘Or result has continued, with Eduardo Camavinga posting in support of his team-mate Vinicius Jr and hitting out against “football politics”.
“My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise. Love you my bro,” Camavinga posted, alongside a photo of himself and the Brazil forward.
Vinicius Junior deserved to win the Ballon d’Or - his problem was that so did Rodri
Although Rodri became just the second Spanish men’s player to lift the Ballon d’Or, the country’s premier club was barely anywhere to be seen. Despite more than one award going to the club or individuals within, nobody representing Real Madrid appeared in Paris as a dismal few days for the European champions got worse. At Manchester City, that knowledge added to the satisfaction of a worthy first ever club winner. The relationship between the clubs, especially at that media level, is poor.
It all illustrates the increasing intrigue around an award that is supposed to be so singular, in rewarding football’s dominant individual player in a calendar year. And then some.
Miguel Delaney on the Ballon d’Or:
Vinicius deserved to win Ballon d’Or - his problem was so did Rodri
The Manchester City man picked up the award while Real Madrid were a no-show as a club
Ballon d'Or LIVE
Vinicius Junior took to social media to react after finishing second in the Ballon d’Or voting behind Manchester City’s Rodri - and rather than any kind of congratulations to the Spanish star, vowed to repeat his own campaign “ten times” over if he needed to, to earn recognition with the game’s top individual prize.
The Brazilian forward had been seen as the favourite to win for most of the build-up towards the France Football ceremony in Paris on Monday night, but shortly beforehand, rumours emerged that Rodri had in fact claimed top spot in voting.
Vinicius Junior reacts to Ballon d'Or result: ‘They’re not ready’
The Real Madrid man was thought to be the front runner before Man City’s midfielder took the crown
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